5 coronavirus things: Coronavirus impact hit University of California system with $310 million in cancelled housing/dining contracts, other costs

In this special edition of 5 Things, Food Management highlights five things you may have missed recently about developments regarding coronavirus and its impact on onsite dining.

Here’s your list for today:

The University of California (UC) system was hit with $558 million in unanticipated costs in March alone due to the coronavirus, as students canceled housing and dining contracts, medical centers paused elective surgeries and campus costs soared for online learning. According to UC President Janet Napolitano, unanticipated new costs and revenue losses include $310 million for UC campuses for canceled housing and dining contracts, facility cleaning costs and transitioning to remote instruction.

On the individual institution level, UC Berkeley has announced that the pandemic would cost the campus "$100 million and growing” with lost revenue from canceled housing and dining contracts, public performances and sports events, along with higher costs for technology. Meanwhile, UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said the campus losses for about 10,000 canceled housing and dining contracts could total nearly $40 million. The medical center had to cancel all elective surgeries and keep 40% of hospital beds open in case of a surge of COVID-19 cases, which could cost more than $40 million in lost revenue.

Related:5 things: Are some profiteering off school meal distribution?

Read more: UC reels under staggering coronavirus costs; ‘the worst impacts ... all at once’

To meet the demand of incoming COVID-19 patients, NewYork-Presbyterian Queens opened a new patient room in the Flushing hospital’s former cafeteria. Known as the “Café” unit, the new room is equipped with 20 patient beds and is fully functional to treat people admitted to the hospital with the coronavirus. Because the cafeteria was not being used in its usual capacity—to promote social distancing, staff could not dine in—the hospital had the opportunity to give the open space a purpose.

Pods of patient beds, each its own private space, line the perimeter of the former dining area, a nurse’s station sits in the middle and a newly built wall allows for staff of the hospital to continue to purchase food without coming into contact with patients.

Read more: NewYork-Presbyterian Queens transforms cafeteria into extra room for patients

With most University at Buffalo (UB) students completing the semester off campus via distance learning, Campus Dining & Shops found a charitable way to make use of the contents of its vending machines on campus—by donating the items to healthcare workers at local hospitals. David Marotta, vending manager for Campus Dining & Shops, came up with the idea in honor of National Doctor’s Day on March 30, as well as to express support and thanks to medical staff and employees working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related:5 things: Safety concerns rising among dining workers still on the job

The snacks, including items like Cliff bars, chips, fruit, energy drinks, juice, tissues and Snickers, filled 26 boxes that Marotta hand-delivered to seven local hospitals.

Read more: Feeding the frontline: UB donates vending machine items to local hospitals

The Ascension Seton hospital chain in Central Texas is providing grocery store staples at a discounted price to employees at pop-up markets in cafeterias in all its hospitals so they can spend less time shopping and more time home with their families. The idea started at Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and now the chain is expanding the model to hospitals in 20 states.

“I think this whole pandemic situation has brought forth a lot of creativity from a lot of people,” said Robert Bailey, regional vice president of TouchPoint Support Services, a food service provider that works with Ascension Seton.

The hospitals offer the goods to employees at cost, meaning they’re cheaper than grocery stores, and some of the hospitals are diversifying their offerings into farmers’ markets where local growers can sell their crops to hospital staff.

Read more: Texas hospital chain opens food pantries so employees can spend time at home, not the grocery store

Since Boston Public Schools (BPS) first closed due to the coronavirus, parents have had the ability to pick up free breakfast and lunch for their students daily. In order to get food to children even easier, BPS has set up food delivery routes for bus drivers. It teamed up with school meal vendor Revolution Foods to make the deliveries possible for parents who are unable to get to a pickup site or those particularly concerned about social distancing.

Food racks are loaded directly onto 12 buses that run three different routes depending on the day of the week. The deliveries include three days’ worth of shelf-stable breakfasts and lunches and have served 200,000 meals since schools closed.

Read more: Boston Public School Buses Deliver Food To Students Unable To Get To Meal Pickup Sites

Bonus: Hospital cafeterias repurposed into mini grocery marts by Elior North America unit Cura Hospitality

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]